Page 16 Advertisements Column 1

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20463, 5 February 1932, Page 16

AUCTIONS. H. MATSON AND CO. if ATSON *■ t-'.l L.KEBKQ.DUC'E TJi-b FOLLOWING ITEMS OF INTERES! : TH}S EXCHANGES.^ "Country Life," 15-1-32. ft- A C. Davidson, General Manager, Bank of Sew South • Wales.) JUucU confusion still exists in the minds Jf o» 'tlj« "fuWset of the exchangesr. i|J» tUo Australian exchange rate at iloO tl.j' nacitipn VM often asiced: What bccqJii. t. ilit J;3o< Or who got tlja ?99». . The confusion is dije aUnpst entirely the use of the wmc WQfd '• tp sate different units. The £\}stoll#£:kWß • Jon rate would be so much easier to und-ir-jtuud if it wo quoted in son*? such ;-'0 marks eauals 100 francs. Nci fino <-u-iid dream &f deducting JOO francs JSQ marks," *'n<l 'then en<J«'«oS M 4 taken the »0 mirlts left over. The fronts Ind mark* would have to be brought to sqai «ta»n»o»' basis or denomination beiur© tha <, a{l could bo subtracted from the °tbcr. l'bo great difficulty is that there arc tp-da., at least nine different pounds in existence, most of them being paper p«up<?®- " j ins the word pound and giving lows P 1 the snore important qf thpse units a distin»ivA name, let utt call; , . Tbe Impire 0 " 04 ....^.- —— Sovereign The South African gold pound ' Ostrich •ill# British paper pound .. sterling The Australian paper pound . . Ixopkqp.burij.i iht New- Zealand paper pound • Krai the Fijian Paper pound The Egyptian paper pound i?„ r . The Peruvian paper pound riarki ■ The Jamaican paper pound • •-.-•• For purposes' Pf illustration it is not necet ■ 4 rv io use the exact exchange rates. A-rbi-irary quotations may even help ts J|j£ position clearer, taking our minds out of the ordinary groove. Suppose some of the exxchango rates arc. 100 Sovereigns equals 125 sterlings. 100 Sterlings equals 150 Kookooburras. 100 Kookooburras equals 90 Kiwis. 100 Kiwis equals 80 Copras. Xo one would fall into tho err°r of sub•racting 100 Sovereigns from l-o Sterlings to find where the 1!3 Sterlings gone. Would any one try to SO Copras, and say that there were 20 Copra 3 »hort or lost? Agiin, would SWone Subiract 300 Sterlings frflm 150 and state that there were oO Kookoohurraa left over to be accounted far? v . JS »«io Would anyone run the risk JLS&3&& •hen ho charged some exchange operator .arfng pocketed the 50 Kookooburras? Would not tho Kookooburras laugh at him • ( tell him that he was trying an lmpos:i,!e task in setting out to work sumß w tli j.its of currency so different! He >,„■ told that he« must first find out a peggs relating the Items to one another before he can bring tliem together In any calcula •ion This is just where the exxchange rate ■ omes in. It relates the two units enabling us to convert ono rnpnpj into tjsryas •-{ another. If we take an equal * r W i»" • qua!, what have we got left I Jfqthing, of • ourse. The rates given abovg show that 100 Sterlings are equal to 150 Therefore it we deduct, 100 £terUngs from 150 Kookooburras there is nothing lei?, cpr. -ain'y not 50 Kookooburras. Similarly sub,Snß on the basis of the other ra t e», sir© the same results —nothing. dealing IN currencies. Uniortuantcly thero has grown up in minds ot people in Australia and l*ew Zgjj: land the idea that exchange means a dcrfucbv vray of commission or brokerage. rig in exchanges is dealing currem J"ach currency is bought and sold a* ?hoach it were wool or wheat or tin. The exchange operator will buy a certain a currency at certain figure and try to sell that amount at a figure sugliuy irivifie him a small margin on tho Transaction. In Australia, on the rate siimed above, anyone wanting "J 00 v 0 oSterlings would have to pay 1005 have hurras. The exchange operatorwoultl have to pay 150 Kookooburras for the 100 Ster Unr. from someone who had them to sell. small margin or^d^fede3l°inhtho Domi°n°ion 0 margin fit "luld be half a Kiwi, and so on >n lc •ffir-a.ssss' SSZSSSSi 5&225« t ™ C «.c^d 9 .tep S U h % ? remeSJ>r- alway? that the exchanges mean dealmgs in diffe rVwtUy, o' '» oa . l > o (Sor.''or qoaprity of co ee on youf gliar<? k&rsz* tirely ditferent units. mp" SHE'S I* EUPPINft I'OWnEH IS 19/6 A CASE CHEAPER. K »; r- ever used," rePo^^ 0 fr e o^ al N^ rt L? 3 o f te lhe^or e ,xpensiv 6 dip business in my dl g»"e u» we j' H HATSOX and CO., I %.grp?sTR iBUTORS - 1 SLOWLV SHIFTING ("Mercant»r« 6»?ette ") The depression |as fF'is'cUiroed now entered the J devastates to have cornmencedit| jf 9P?PSfElr ss is. "V. srs.s';ivrsr..: h .:s»»".«?» fh?"or d n 11 is merely a phase, - Ti«'d W the incoming tide of prosperity. But strWe^ P it\n°4 ■«» denreuion- and there is evidence that thes« efforts will bo successful in ! the long run. It is an old saying and a true one, that ttrawa show the direction in which the wvnd i* blowing, and tho straws of evidence point to & change in tha direction of the economic hurrienne. L s f g|| a nd mmnr different quarters o£ the £lobe, ana S »» vrorth while recording this evidsnP?A jw : lirovement in the pqsjtiiou noticeable since fjeptembe® cpntinupd Christmas. Daring the first tb«» wegfes «Jf Deccmbef the number <ejl by 415?,q00, pi which Tf,0()0 constituted thq rqsl imprpy|msni, the remainder being due ta t|ie tighfemns »P* o* tha dole. The improvement is seasonable, but is greater tfiau for gqme Ftfrt, especially in coal winjl!g. EStfSßi trjjgineerlng, wbic?i are sppie of tl(e '1" dnsteles of Britaip. Oftier evidqpea IS tlio continued activity of tlje Lpndon Sfpck tochaosß and the ?t#«dy approcigtion pf g"tedge! securities. StcrJJjjg "has risen >n terms of the dollar and the franc. In New York ;t touched Si dollars, wfeilo BBt S° TSFy '. ons ag o jt wan under !3,40 dollars. Another pieco ol information that is rather intriguing js the forecast of a probable reduction »n the British Ircoip? tax. A reduction of at sixpence id the £ is said to lie a certainty, and that mean? that several millions sterling •will remain in the pockets of t)ie people, and nil! be available for expenditure. , The nbove facts are very striking, and give much cause for optimism. But tho above i* not all the pyidenca that js available. Qn January 15th tho Government of India announced that it w#s in a position to repay a 51 per cent, loan of £15,000,000,' without l/flrrowiiig from London or drawing on her resource;. (This is excellent news, but more interesting ia the fact that £25,000,000 of gold, mostly frpin secret hpsrds, b#? left India. The annual output of new gold is in the vicinity of £80,000,000, so that from sepret iioards b»a eopia »«?# thai} 85 ppr cgnt. of the nmount of new gold to augment the world'* supply, and the cry of a shortage pf gold should, in consequence, boou disappear. In Australia the conditions have improved so greatly that there (a now talk of reducing the exchange rate on London. Tho fly in the ointment is the trad# figT}r«j of the United states. For the past calendar year tho exports from tha United States totalled 424,188,000 dollars, and the imports were 2,090,107,000 dollars, 50 that there was a favourable trade balance of 1134,076,000 dollars, that means at the close of the year t)ie world was indebjefl to the United States for the balance stated, in addition there are the war debts, but only half the amount due was said last year because the Hoover moratorium became effective on July Ist last, and no v»t debt payments were made on Deceqi: ber 15th. The balance owing to America must be paid, and It that country refuses to lend to other nations then tiio nmount must be paid in be; gold. France's trade figures fpr last rear show an excess at imports over exports of over £04,000,000. To arrlvo nt international balances tllp ipyjsijjlp pjfpprtE »n4 imports tjiut b# tsMn i?tP jiccpunt, apd these at best can only be estimated. In addition to (He evidence furnished above there is the fact that certain commodities have improved i& valjie. Wopl, for instance, is distinctly firmer, with an upward tejjdeacyv Cotton is a shade firmer than ]ast reoatb, whils> rubber, jptp, copra, and linseed oil ar* frm. Tb« bait metals show im-